E-News

Spotlight January 2026

Elizabeth Williams — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 01:06:11 +0000

Spotlight January 2026 Elizabeth Williams Thu, 01/22/2026 - 18:06

CAS Briefs - Nepal’s Gen Z Protests and Political Uprising: A Response to Long-term Corruption

by Tracy Fehr

On September 8^th, 2025, young Nepalis took to the streets as part of Gen Z protests organized across the country. What began in the morning as a peaceful youth protest, by nightfall turned into an unwarranted show of excessive bloodshed that shocked the nation. State security forces met protesters with brutal force and live ammunition, killing 19 people that day and filling hospitals with more than 300 wounded. A total of 76 people—mostly young students and many wearing school uniforms—reportedly died over the following days with more than 2,000 injured.

In response to the violent crackdown, on the following day September 9th, the Gen Z movement hosted protests in cities across the country. Historically, street protests have been a significant political tool used by civil society in Nepal to force political change. However, what happened on September 9^th was unexpected as protests quickly turned into chaos and destruction. Gen Z leaders issued a statement saying the movement "was and remains non-violent and rooted in the principles of peaceful civic engagement.” But, by the end of the day, protesters in Kathmandu had set fire to the Parliament Building, Singha Durbar government complex, the Supreme Court, political leaders’ homes and political party headquarters, mainstream media outlets, and landmarks representing the wealthy elite including The Hyatt Hotel. Gen Z protesters and the Army claimed that infiltrators had co-opted the protests and were primarily responsible for the widespread destruction.

International media including the New York Times, Time Magazine and The Guardian were quick to pick up the story, but they framed the Gen Z protests as a reaction to recent social media bans enacted by the Government of Nepal. This oversimplified narrative overlooked long-term issues of rampant government corruption and a lack of government accountability that underlay the social unrest. One week before the protests, the Government of Nepal had banned 26 social media platforms, but this was viewed by the Gen Z movement as an attempt to stifle an ongoing anti-corruption social media campaign that critiqued the luxuriant lifestyles associated with politicians’ children, calling them “#nepobabies.” This viral social media campaign highlighted the privilege and wealth of political families and their children, which contrast starkly with the daily lives of most Nepali families who struggle economically and often have to migrate abroad for work. Therefore, the social media ban was just a match to the flame of brewing frustration from a generation with high unemployment and minimal economic opportunities at home.

Read the full article here

Hirshberg wins Khyentse Foundation Academic Development Grant

CAS Tibetan and Himalayan studies teaching associate professor Dan Hirshberg won a Khyentse Foundation Academic Development Grant cost matched by Daryl Maeda, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, to fund his position in academic year 2026–27.

Focusing on contemplative pedagogy in his course designs and his grant application, Dan wrote: "such high-impact experiential learning can be seen as a contemporary innovation of Tibetan and Buddhist contemplative techniques to benefit those who do not necessarily ascribe to their tenets. Moreover, at a time when the humanities and international area studies in the US are under severe threat, explicitly targeted for abolishment by the federal government, such interdisciplinarity across the humanities, arts and sciences extends a bridge to demonstrate the unparalleled depth and richness of these humanistic traditions, not just as historical and cultural artifacts, but as ever-relevant living processes, evolving and innovating such that they can be effectively applied in secular educational contexts. How can we demonstrate, through the curriculum we design and for the students we reach, that for over 2500 years, these lineages of extraordinary rigor, discipline, experimentation and innovation have offered diverse peoples, of countless cultural and historical contexts, the means for them to flourish? We must help students directly experience for themselves that they still do."

Khyentse Foundation is a global nonprofit organization established in 2001 to actualize the vision of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche by preserving and promoting the wisdom of the Buddha. It functions primarily as a funding institution that supports individuals and projects committed to the study, practice, and dissemination of Buddhist teachings across all traditions in a nonsectarian spirit. The foundation’s work encompasses major initiatives in Buddhist scholarship, text preservation and translation, monastic and teacher training, academic development, educational programs for children, and practitioner support. Through grants, scholarships, awards, and seed funding, Khyentse Foundation aids scholars, practitioners, translators, institutions, and emerging initiatives worldwide, with the goal of enabling the Buddha’s insights to flourish in contemporary contexts.

Celebrating Undergraduate Research: Introducing the 12th Issue of CJAS

Welcome to the twelfth edition of the Colorado Journal of Asian Studies (CJAS), published by the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Since its founding, CJAS has celebrated the creativity and insight of undergraduate scholars by providing a platform for original research on Asia. This year’s issue continues that tradition, bringing together a diverse collection of essays, photo projects, and long-form studies that span regions from Iran to Japan and topics from religion and politics to translation, visual culture, and food.

Short Form Academic Essays

Gender and Power: Manifestations of Women’s Status in the Discourse of Reform — Abigail Ellis, University of Colorado Boulder
Post-1987 Education Reform & the Search for National Identity in Taiwan — Shelby Glenn, University of Colorado Boulder
The Sinicization of Manchu Women in the Qing Dynasty: Evaluating from Marriage Custom, Chaste Widow, and Manchu Clothing — Jiaheng Lyu, University of Texas
Local Deities, Lamas, and Festivals: Experiencing the Sentient Beings of Manang Valley, Nepal — Luke Stumpfl, University of Colorado Boulder
Orphan of Taiwan: The Importance of Identity and Upbringing in the Mid-20th Century — Hayden Fox, University of Colorado Boulder

Photo Essays

Focusing People Not Objects: Photography and Selective Narratives in Colonial India — Spandan Koirala, University of Colorado Boulder
The Female Gaze: The Aurangabad Photo Budget No. 7 as a Lens for Exploring Missionary Women and Their Work in Local Communities — Joy Mellott, University of Colorado Boulder
Understanding the East Malaysian Perspective of Local History — Samantha Choe, University of Colorado Boulder

Long-Form Academic Essays

ADHD in Translation: The English to Chinese Translation Distinctions — Chloe Nowak, University of Colorado Boulder
Farmers in Modernity: Local Responses to Agricultural Policy in Bhutan — Lorelei Smillie, Colorado College
Inventing an Empire: The Role of Migration in the Fabrication of Curry in Colonial India and Legacies of Food Colonization — Marguerite Laplant, University of Denver
The Legacies of State Shinto and Aum Shinrikyo on Japanese Religious Politics as seen Through the Unification Church — L.H. Scheppy, University of Colorado Boulder

We are grateful to the undergraduate scholars whose contributions make this issue possible. Their work reflects the creativity, rigor, and intellectual curiosity that define Asian Studies as a field and highlight the value of undergraduate research as a vital part of academic inquiry.

Now in its twelfth edition, CJAS builds on more than a decade of publishing student scholarship. This tradition underscores the journal’s role as a space where undergraduates can share their voices, challenge assumptions, and broaden our collective understanding of Asia.

We invite you to read the full 12th edition of CJAS and engage with the wide-ranging perspectives it offers.

Sincerely,
The Editorial Team
Colorado Journal of Asian Studies
Center for Asian Studies

Read the 12th Edition of CJAS Here

Recent Faculty Publications

CAS affiliated faculty wrote numerous articles, essays, and books in 2025. Here is a small sampling of their publications:

Lauren Collins. 2025. “Archives As Bridges: Connecting Students to Asia’s Histories”. Transnational Asia, vol. 7, no. 1, Oct. 2025, doi:10.25615/ta.v7i1.113.

Emmanuel David wrote an introduction for Azucena, a republication of the first book of poetry by a Filipino in the US. The author, M. de Gracia Concepción, is Emmanuel's great grand uncle. 2025 was the 100-year anniversary of the original publication.

Kathryn E. Goldfarb. 2025. Fragile kinships: child welfare and well-being in Japan. Cornell University Press.

Rachel Rinaldo and Tracy Fehr. 2025. “‘I Have a Right to A Better Imam’: Divorce, Islam, and Changing Marriage Ideals in Indonesia.” Critical Asian Studies (online first).

Stephanie Su. 2025. History Painting Crossing Borders, A Transnational History of Modern Art in Early Twentieth-Century China and Japan. Vol. 12. Brill.

Nishant Upadhyay. 2025. Fraught Solidarities: Diasporic Hindutva and Claims to Indigeneity, Amerasia Journal,

Ethan Waddell. 2025. "Psychedelic Codes and Close Listening to South Korean Fiction, 1971–1989." positions 33, no. 1 (2025): 109-134.

Emily T Yeh, Cypri Jehan Paju Dale, Gregorius Afioma, and Shae Frydenlund. 2025. "Living space and the struggle against geothermal energy projects in Flores, Indonesia." Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space (online first).

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Spotlight December 2025

Elizabeth Williams — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 20:40:30 +0000

Spotlight December 2025 Elizabeth Williams Thu, 01/22/2026 - 13:40

Fall 2025 Faculty Director’s Update

Dear Friends of the Center for Asian Studies,

Despite the challenges of the past several months, 2025 was a busy and productive year for CAS. Our events, scholarships and grants, teaching, and outreach efforts supported faculty, students, and staff from across campus and beyond.

Unfortunately, as many of you know, CAS has been deeply impacted by the recent cuts to federal funding. This September, we received notification that Title VI of the Higher Education Act, the longstanding federal program that included our 2022-2026 National Resource Center and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) grants, was being discontinued. For decades, these grants have provided funding for crucial international education programs focused on Asia. Just this year, the FLAS fellowships provided five С�� Boulder students with funding for summer 2025 Asian language programs, and six academic year fellowships for advanced Asian area studies and language training.

In this edition of the CAS e-News, you will find more information about the grant discontinuation; local news stories from 9News, the Boulder Reporting Lab, Boulder Daily Camera, and the С�� Independent; a letter of support from faculty to the С�� upper administration; and an open letter from faculty across the nation (including CAS) that was published in the Chronicle of Higher Education that have all covered how CAS has been impacted by these funding cuts.

CAS has become an essential hub for interdisciplinary Asian studies on the Boulder campus in Colorado, and in the broader Rocky Mountain region. Our mission is to make Asia as accessible as possible to students, faculty, staff, and the broader community. In this era of global and local challenges, we believe it is even more crucial to continue cultivating meaningful engagement with Asia. We are fortunate to have outstanding staff who make CAS’s successes possible, especially Executive Director Danielle Rocheleau Salaz, Events Coordinator Liza Williams, and Accounting and Grant Assistant Lucy Lin.

We are currently working closely with the College of Arts and Sciences and other units at the university to diversify our funding sources and develop a plan for financial sustainability. Nevertheless, due to the federal funding cuts, we will have to make some difficult choices about which programs and initiatives to prioritize. Please do take a few moments to fill out our survey (below), which is intended to help guide our decision-making over the next few months.

We are thankful for your support in everything we do. We need your contributions more than ever. We are grateful to those who have already made donations this year.

Best wishes for a peaceful holiday season for all,
Rachel Rinaldo, Faculty Director

CAS Survey

Dear friends and colleagues of the Center for Asian Studies,

We are conducting this survey to better understand how the Center for Asian Studies should prioritize activities for the future as we embark on a process of re-envisioning our role on campus over the coming years. Asian Studies at С�� Boulder refers to the learning, research, and engagement that help students, faculty, and the public understand Asia broadly construed: its histories, cultures, languages, societies, and environments. CAS’s mission is to amplify and connect to the wide range of Asia-related opportunities across campus, encouraging students to take as many Asia-related classes as they can from departments across the university. The Asian Studies major and minor are one part of this landscape, but CAS exists to support and strengthen the full ecosystem of Asia-related teaching, research, and community engagement at С�� Boulder.

Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey so that we can make fully informed decisions based on our community’s priorities and interests. Please feel free to share this survey with others who are interested in CAS and Asian studies.

Take Survey

Grant Discontinuation Notice from the US Department of Education

Read the Official Notification Here

News Coverage of Grant Discontinuation

CAS faculty director Rachel Rinaldo and executive director Danielle Rocheleau Salaz have been interviewed for various news stories about the impact of federal budget cuts.

9News 11/10/25

Boulder Reporting Lab 11/13/25

Daily Camera 10/5/25

С�� Independent 10/20/25

Chronicle of Higher Education 11/21/25

Faculty Letter of Support for CAS

An open letter in support of the С�� Boulder Center for Asian Studies was routed by CAS to members of the С�� community starting on Friday, September 12, 2025. By the time the signed letter was sent to campus leadership (Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives Ann Schmiesing, Senior Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Massimo Ruzzene, and Provost Ann Stevens) on the morning of Tuesday, September 16, it had received 275 signatures. That is the version you see here. We are grateful for this outpouring of support from campus and are continuing to discuss CAS's future with С�� Boulder's leadership.

Faculty Support Letter

Frydenlund Awarded RIO New Frontiers Grant

CAS Climate and Society assistant teaching professor Shae Frydenlund won a $50,000 RIO New Frontiers Grant to fund the Planning Phase of her interdisciplinary project on geothermal development, entitled: New Frontiers in the Renewable Energy Transition: Mapping Technological and Social Dimensions of Geothermal Development in Colorado. Together with Engineering Professor Bri-Mathias Hodge, she will investigate intersecting social, economic, and technological dimensions of geothermal development in Colorado and beyond. The project emerged from the CAS Climate and Society in Asia workshop in Fall 2024, which convened faculty from Arts and Sciences and Engineering to discuss intersecting interests in climate science and social and historical factors in Asia with the aim of generating new connections and collaborations. The workshop brought together Dr. Frydenlund’s experience working with Indigenous anti-geothermal activists in Indonesia and Dr. Hodge’s experience in the simulation of power and energy systems, with an emphasis on the integration of renewable energy. This unique collaboration highlights CAS contributions to advancing high-impact research at С�� Boulder. The project aims to position С�� Boulder as a leader in geoenergy research by establishing a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary geothermal research center.

Read full article here.

Support CAS

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Spotlight May 2025

Elizabeth Williams — Fri, 09 May 2025 16:21:00 +0000

Spotlight May 2025 Elizabeth Williams Fri, 05/09/2025 - 10:21

Welcome to the graduation week edition of the Center for Asian Studies e-News. Keep reading to learn about some of the activities of our students, faculty, and staff this semester.

Center for Asian Studies
Student and Faculty Achievements

Asian Studies Graduates

B. A. in Asian Studies

Tae Chapmann Minors: History and Korean
Lily Elliott Second Major: B.S. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Chloe Nowak Additional Majors: Psychology, Chinese Language and Civilization, Leadership and Community Engagement
Light Scheppy Second Major: Japanese Language and Literature; Minor: Korean
Sanskriti Shrestha Minors: Chinese, Japanese, Leadership Studies
Elena Wilson Second Major: Political Science

Asian Studies Minor

Elizabeth Craig Majors: Political Science and History
Shelby Glenn Majors: History and International Affairs; Second Minor: Classics
Aidan Vance Major: History

Certificate in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies

Luke Stumpfl Major: Anthropology; Minor: Geography

CAS Student Awards

Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships

Graduate Student Fellows 2024-25 Academic Year

Aaron Bhatoya Hindi (History)
Jeanne Cho Japanese (History)
Nicholas Christoffersen Korean (Mathematics)
Jake Fischer Japanese (ALC)
Nicolas Jones Japanese (History)
Emily Swertfeger Arabic (History)

Graduate Student Fellows Summer 2025

Geneieve Hauer Chinese (Religious Studies)
Jessica Misiorek Japanese (Anthropology)
Casey Ringer Japanese (History)

Undergraduate Student Fellows Summer 2025

Malia Donoghue Chinese (Integrative Physiology)
Ian Comer Japanese (ALC)

Edward G. Seidensticker Japan Summer 2025 Research Grants

Ivan-Daniel Espinosa Theatre and Performance Studies
Ubochi Igbokwe Ethnomusicology

Japanese Studies Scholarship Fellows 2024-2025 Academic Year

Brandon Edwards Asian Languages and Civilizations
Evelyn Emery Asian Languages and Civilizations
Haruka Fujii Asian Languages and Civilizations
Sam Hensley Art and Art History
Lillith Jackson Asian Languages and Civilizations
Nicholas Jones History
Jessica Misiorek Anthropology
Casey Ringer History
Nyla Schaberg Asian Languages and Civilizations
Mikhail Skovoronskikh Asian Languages and Civilizations
Raisa Stebbins Asian Languages and Civilizations
Juliana Valverde Asian Languages and Civilizations
Taoxuan Xu Asian Languages and Civilizations

CAS Faculty Awards

Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant

Dwi Purwanto Indonesian Language Instruction

Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum Course Development Grant

Nidhi Arya Asian Languages and Civilizations

Asian Studies Course Development Grants

Brianne Cohen Art & Art History
Lauren Collins Asian Studies
Shae Frydenlund Asian Studies
Miriam Kadia Kingsburg History
Daryl Maude Asian Languages and Civilizations
Jianmin Shao Ethnic Studies
Molly Todd Sociology

Join us for the Center for Asian Studies commencement and celebration of student and faculty achievement on Friday, May 9 at 1:30 p.m. in the CASE Building, 4th floor.

Congratulations!

Susan Schmidt Retires from CAS

Susan Schmidt, a longtime Center for Asian Studies staff member, retired at the end of January 2025, after serving as the first Executive Director of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ), an outreach branch of CAS.

Susan was hired in 1997 by Professor Laurel Rasplica Rodd - then chairing the Department of East Asian Language Literatures (now the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations) and concurrently serving as President of the national Japanese language educators professional association - to direct the Bridging Clearinghouse, a national outreach and scholarship program with the mission of encouraging more college students of Japanese to study abroad in Japan. Since 1999, AATJ’s Bridging Scholarship program has awarded scholarships to almost 2,500 U.S. students, from almost every state including Colorado.

As time went by, she added general administration of the Association to her duties. AATJ’s 1,000+ members include researchers and teachers of Japanese at all levels from kindergarten to graduate school. In addition to the study abroad scholarship program, Susan managed the publication of a journal and newsletter, the convening of two annual national conferences for Japanese language educators, and many special projects that include online courses and webinars, professional development grants for teachers at all levels of instruction, and the administration of two proficiency tests for learners of Japanese across the country.

Under the sponsorship of CAS, С��-Boulder is one of 18 institutions in the United States that administer the annual in-person Japanese Language Proficiency Test to more than seven thousand test takers around the country. Susan lists working with colleagues at CAS – with its rich resources and wide-ranging programming - as one of the most rewarding parts of her job. Even after retirement, she looks forward to continuing to learn about Asia and its multi-faceted traditions and cultures by participating in the Center’s public activities and programs.

Asia Symposium 2025 —
InterAsian Circulations
April 11, 2025

By Rachel Rinaldo, CAS Faculty Director

This year's Asia Symposium examined the historic and contemporary connections within and beyond Asia, with attention to phenomena such as migration, religious and cultural movements, and political/economic connections.

The first panel, on Religious and Social movements, investigated the contours of several contemporary social movements and their transnational connections. Yi-Ling Chen (University of Wyoming) compared the social housing movements in Taiwan and South Korea and explored how they have influenced each other. Dheepa Sundaram (University of Denver) discussed how the contemporary Hindutva movement has taken shape in digital spaces and involved both diasporic connections and linkages with US right wing and white supremacist movements. Neda Shaban (С�� Boulder) discussed the anti-hijab movement in Iran and how it has been shaped by diasporic politics.

The second panel, on Migration and Refugee Circulations, explored migration from the perspective of Asian societies. David Cook-Martin (С�� Boulder) discussed the migration of Indian indentured workers to Mauritius and the West Indies and how this created legal and institutional templates for temporary labor migration that continue to shape global mobility patterns today. Jerry Jacka (С�� Boulder) talked about how resource extraction and climate change in Papua New Guinea have reshaped traditional forms of internal migration and circulation. Shae Frydenlund (С�� Boulder) discussed her research on Rohingya refugee women in Malaysia and how they have used online platforms to make money and supplement their families' meager income.

In his keynote, Ismail Fajrie Alatas (NYU) discussed the history of alternative forms of circulation and mobility of Muslim Sufi scholars across the Indian ocean. He argued that their concept of wilāya, which encapsulates ideas about friendship across territoriality, offers a vision of a trans-regional geography shaped by protection, care, hospitality, and grace. Thinking with this concept opens up a fresh perspective on circulations across Asia, past and present.

The 2025 Asia Symposium was made possible by the National Resource Center/FLAS grant from the US Department of Education.

2025 Course Development Grants

This spring, CAS awarded course development grants to 7 С�� Boulder faculty. These grants are intended to support the creation of a new course on Asia or the revision of an existing course to include more content on Asia. Brianne Cohen (ARTH) will create a new class on Art and Climate Justice in Southeast Asia; Lauren Collins (CAS) will add content on Japan and WWII to her Gateway to Asia class, Shae Frydenlund (CAS) will revise her course on climate and sustainability in Asia to add content on gender, Miriam Kadia Kingsburg (HIST) will create a new class on Japan after WWII, Daryl Maude (ALC) will use the grant for a new class on Queer Japan, Jianmin Shao (WGST) will add Southeast Asia content to their class on Queer and Trans Asias, and Molly Todd (SOCY) will add Asia content to her class on Feminist Perspectives on Borders, Migration, and Displacement.

In addition, Nidhi Arya (ALC) was awarded a Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum course development grant.

The course development grants are made possible by CAS's National Resource Center/FLAS grant from the US Department of Education.

Vietnam through Time
Teaching the History, Culture, and
Transformation of a Nation

The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago today, April 30th, but Vietnam’s story goes far beyond the war. This summer program invites educators to look behind the curtain and explore the country’s rich history, vibrant culture, and its development into one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

This professional development program is offered by the South, Southeast, and West Asia (SSEWA) Outreach Program of the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.

June 9-11, 2025 (Monday-Wednesday)
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily
University of Colorado Boulder

REGISTER HERE
Apply by May 21, 2025
Limited to 15 teachers

Eligibility
· This SSEWA summer program is open to Colorado high school and community college educators (grades 9-14), with priority given to those who teach social studies, social science, and the humanities.
· Must be able to show proof of at least 0.50 FTE teaching position in a regular school setting for 2025-2026.
· Must be willing to commute to С�� Boulder throughout the workshop. Residential accommodations will not be provided, but participants will be given parking permits on campus.

Benefits of Participation
· Light breakfast and lunch daily
· $350 stipend for full attendance, active participation, and submission of a Curriculum Implementation Plan
· Certificate of completion for 15 professional development contact hours
· Contact hours may be available through the University of Colorado Continuing Education (pending approval), at the participant’s expense.

Responsibilities
Educators selected for participation are expected to fulfill the following:
· Attend all the program sessions, June 9-11, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily.
· Complete session assignments prior to each day’s meeting.
· Submit a Curriculum Implementation Plan by the designated deadline.

How to Apply
· Fill out the application form at: https://bit.ly/SSEWAVietnam
· Submit an essay response to the following questions:
a. How is this program relevant to your teaching?
b. What are your goals in joining the SSEWA summer workshop?
· Applications will be considered incomplete until essays are submitted by email to the SSEWA Outreach Coordinator, Hannah Palustre, at ssewa@colorado.edu. Applications will be accepted through May 21, 2025, and selected applicants will be notified by May 23, 2025.

Inquiries
For more information about this opportunity, send an email to the SSEWA Outreach Coordinator at ssewa@colorado.edu. Learn more about the SSEWA Outreach Program at https://bit.ly/ssewaoutreach and the Center for Asian Studies at www.colorado.edu/cas.

This professional development program is funded by the Title VI National Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education with support from the С�� Boulder Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (https://colorado.edu/paces).

25 Years of CAS

We invite you to share thoughts, memories or anything that comes to mind about the Center for Asian Studies as we celebrate our 25th year.

Please share your thoughts here.

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Spotlight March 2025

Elizabeth Williams — Thu, 01 May 2025 17:33:15 +0000

Spotlight March 2025 Elizabeth Williams Thu, 05/01/2025 - 11:33

CAS Briefs - Bangladesh 2.0: A Nation Reimagined by Its Youth, Upholding Democracy

By Musabber Chisty, a PhD student in Sociology

In the summer of 2024, Bangladesh witnessed a profound and transformative moment in its history, a wave of political and social change led by its young people, now remembered as the Students–People’s Uprising or the July Revolution. The spark for this movement came in early June 2024, when the Bangladesh Supreme Court reinstated a contentious job quota system in the public sector. This decision ignited widespread frustration, particularly among the youth, who saw it as a barrier to fairness and opportunity. In response, a group called Students Against Discrimination took to the streets, demanding reforms to the quota system. What began as student-led protests soon grew into a nationwide movement, drawing in young people from universities, colleges, schools, and madrasas (Islamic educational institutions), united by a shared vision of a more equitable future.

As the protests gained momentum, the government’s reaction grew increasingly harsh. By late July, the situation escalated dramatically when security forces launched a violent crackdown on demonstrators, an event that would later be known as the July Massacre. According to reports from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), between July 16 and August 11, over 1,400 lives were tragically lost, including more than 180 children. The darkest days came on August 4 and 5, when at least 250 people were killed. These events shook the nation to its core, galvanizing even greater resolve among the protesters.

On August 3, the leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement issued a clear and unified demand: the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet. Two days later, as massive crowds filled the streets of Dhaka, their voices could no longer be ignored. Prime Minister Hasina resigned and fled to India, a longtime ally of her government. Her departure was met with both jubilation and chaos. While many celebrated what they saw as a victory for democracy, the power vacuum also led to sporadic violence, including attacks on properties linked to the ruling Awami League and its supporters.

In the wake of these events, the military, in collaboration with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, announced the formation of an interim government. To guide the nation through this turbulent period, they appointed Muhammad Yunus, the esteemed economist and Nobel laureate, as chief adviser. Yunus, a figure revered for his work in poverty alleviation and social entrepreneurship, was seen as a unifying force capable of steering Bangladesh toward stability and reform.

Read the full brief here

CAS Celebrates 25 Years

By Danielle Rocheleau Salaz, Executive Director of CAS

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of the Center for Asian Studies. The occasion provides an opportunity to look back at the history of Asian Studies on the С�� Boulder campus and the impact that CAS has made.
It may seem odd to begin discussion of a 25^th anniversary by going back 89 years, but CAS stands on the shoulders of those who came before, and this history is worth reviewing:

In 1935, the first full-time faculty hire in Asian Studies was Professor Earl Swisher, who specialized in East Asian history. In his first year, 130 students enrolled in his Asia-related courses.

In 1942, the Navy Japanese Language School moved to С�� from the University of California Berkeley. Renamed the Navy School for Oriental Languages in 1944, 684 officers were enrolled in credit-bearing С�� courses in Japanese, Chinese, Malay, and Russian before the school again relocated in 1945. Alumni included many diplomats, intelligence officers, and scholars such as Donald Keene, Edward Seidensticker, and Theodore de Bary.

In 1944, the С�� Institute of Asiatic Affairs was established by modern history professor Carl Eckhardt, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, and Social Science Research Council. Funding for the Institute dropped off in the 1950s, after the immediacy of World War II had started to recede into the past.

In 1958, the degree-granting Asian Studies Program was established. The first B.A. degrees in Asian Studies were granted in 1961. Though requirements and course offerings have shifted through the years, this is the same Asian Studies programthat CAS houses today.

In 1967, С�� was designated as a “Language and Area Center: East Asia” by the U.S. Office of Education, one of only 21 such centers nationwide. That designation led to the establishment of an East Asian Studies Program in
1968 and the Department of Oriental Languages and Literatures (today’s Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations) in 1969.

Continue reading the article here.

InterAsian Circulations

The CAS theme for 2024-2025 is InterAsian Circulations. In recent years, Asian Studies has emphasized the importance of transnational connections within Asia and between Asia and other parts of the globe. Inter-Asian movements of people as well as economic and cultural ties have long been powerful forces within Asia. For example, the economies of China, India, and the Middle East are increasingly integrated through trade. This year, we seek to highlight exchanges, links, and connections across borders within Asia, with particular emphasis on circulations between West and East Asia. We seek to explore the historic and contemporary connections between West and East Asia, with attention to how phenomena such as migration, religious and cultural exchanges, and political/economic connections build transregional relationships and influence Asian societies.

Asia Symposium
Friday, April 11th
Center for British and Irish Studies, 5th floor
Norlin Library

Symposium Schedule
11am-12:15pm Meet and greet/reception
12:15pm Introductions and welcome
12:30-2pm Panel 1: Migration/Refugee Circulations in Asia
2-2:15pm break
2:15-3:45pm Panel 2: Social and Religious Movements – InterAsian Connections
3:45-4pm break
4-5pm Keynote presentation - Ismail Alatas, NYU

This event is funded by a grant by the Title VI National Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

CJAS 2024 now online!

We are thrilled to announce that the latest issue of the Colorado Journal of Asian Studies is now available! This edition highlights the exceptional work of undergraduate students, offering a diverse mix of research and creative pieces that explore various aspects of culture, history, and contemporary issues. From an in-depth analysis of queer Korean cinema to the memorialization of Lao-Hmong service members during the Vietnam War, this issue provides fresh perspectives and thought-provoking content from exceptional undergraduate scholars.

Read the latest issue here

CAS Executive Director elected Chair of national CLAC Consortium

Danielle Rocheleau Salaz, Executive Director of the Center for Asian Studies (CAS), has been elected Chair of the Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) Consortium, a professional organization supporting faculty and higher education institutions in integrating languages and cultures across various academic disciplines.

Salaz’s election follows CAS’s participation in the 2024 CLAC Conference, themed “Innovative Approaches to Support CLAC Programs: Leveraging Institutional and Community Strengths,” held at the University of Utah on October 25-26, 2024. Salaz, alongside CAS CLAC Coordinator Hannah Palustre, also presented a session titled “Positioning CLAC as an Internationalization Initiative at С�� Boulder,” which highlighted how CLAC could be adopted and adapted by various campus units to support the university’s internationalization efforts.

CAS established the CLAC program at С�� Boulder in 2017 and has since worked with 11 faculty members to develop 17 one-credit CLAC co-seminars. With support from a National Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education, CAS offers CLAC course development grants annually to encourage faculty to create co-seminars, taught in the target language, that complement their primary content courses.

A Glimpse of Discovering Indonesia through Bahasa Indonesia Class

by Nurul Wahyuni, 2023-2024 Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant, Center for Asian Studies

Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world with over 18 thousand islands, more than 300 ethnic groups and over 800 known languages spoken. Even with its vast and diverse characteristics, it still maintains its unity as one country. Stretching from Sumatra to Papua, the people of Indonesia share a national language, Bahasa Indonesia. Bahasa Indonesia thus plays a vital role helping to create unity within the diversity of Indonesia.

Read the full article here

Susan Schmidt recipient of 2024 Kentaro Kaneko Award

America-Japan Society announces recipients

The 2024 Kentaro Kaneko Award ceremony will be held Oct. 15 at the International House of Japan in Tokyo’s Minato Ward.

The America-Japan Society has announced this year’s recipients of the Kentaro Kaneko Award, which honors individuals who have significantly contributed to bilateral relations through grassroots efforts.

This year’s awardees are Masako Kawai from Gifu Prefecture, who has been involved in volunteer activities relating to international exchange, and Susan Schmidt from Colorado, who has worked to promote Japanese-language education in the United States as well as via exchange programs in higher education.

Read the full article here.

Recent Faculty Publications

Difficult Attachments: Anxieties of Kinship and Care, edited by Kathryn Goldfarb and Sandra Bamford

Difficult Attachments: Anxieties of Kinship and Care explores how family relations may be about connection and inclusion but are also about disconnection, exclusion, neglect, and violence. The volume features eighteen chapters from diverse anthropologists, examining the ambivalent ways we are in relation to each other.

Indians on Indian Lands: Intersections of Race, Caste, and Indigeneity by Nishant Upadhyay, Assistant Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies

Indians on Indian Lands: Intersections of Race, Caste, and Indigeneity (University of Illinois Press, 2024) unravels Indian diasporic complicity in its ongoing colonial relationship with Indigenous peoples, lands, and nations in Canada. In the book, Upadhyay examines the interwoven and simultaneous areas of dominant Indian caste complicity in processes of settler colonialism, antiblackness, capitalism, brahminical supremacy, Hindu nationalism, and heteropatriarchy.

“Inspiration as Worship: Creativity, Circulation, and Divinity in the Indonesian Modest Fashion Scene” by Carla Jones. In Routledge International Handbook of Islam and Consumer Culture. Francois Gauthier and Birgit Krawietz, eds.

If you have a recent publication you want us to feature, please email Liza Williams with your information.

We invite you to share thoughts, memories or anything that comes to mind about the Center for Asian Studies as we celebrate our 25th year.

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Spotlight April 2024

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 16:26:54 +0000

Spotlight April 2024 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/21/2024 - 10:26

Fluid Asia Through Two Blockages: Labor Unfreedom and Geothermal Justice

A CAS Brief by Shae Frydenlund

The theme of this year’s Center for Asian Studies symposium – Fluid Asia – invites critical engagement with the social and physical fluidities that are shaping life and landscapes in the region. As the symposium approaches, I am thinking about various fluid dynamics of capitalist development in Southeast Asia – the movement of dispossessed rural people into cities where they work, which is commonly described in terms of flooding, the proliferation of hydroelectric dams along the Mekong, agricultural transitions from water-intensive subsistence crops to water-saving commercial crops in the Himalayas, to name a few. Water and its properties are a compelling vantage point for studying changes in capitalism; however, I am especially interested in the generative tension between fluidity and its foil: blockage.

My own research is concerned with two instances of fluidity and blockage in Southeast Asia. First, the quandary of “free-flowing” migrant labor: the movement of workers drives capitalist development all over Asia (and beyond), but they are simultaneously subjected to conditions of labor unfreedom that block their ability to maneuver in labor markets. Second, the fluid properties and politics of geothermal energy development in Indonesia’s Ring of Fire: proposed projects aim to harness steam that is produced as cool water meets molten Earth, but indigenous women in target communities have organized to oppose the construction of well heads that would block social reproduction, erode livelihoods, and defile living space.

The lived experiences of Burmese workers in Southeast Asia and the United States demonstrate that capitalist development – specifically urban development – is predicated on the forced flow of labor and the simultaneous blockage of labor rights. As Stephen Campbell (2022) shows in his recent book, Along the Integral Margin, people dispossessed by disaster and failed promises of rural development in Myanmar are compelled to move to urban centers but are confined to varying types of non-normative work and even enslavement. But why are people who “flow” locked into shitty jobs? Asking this question in the context of the Burmese diaspora, I found that state immigration regimes articulate with racialized labor discipline to direct displaced people into meatpacking and manufacturing work and block their ability to work in other sectors or organize for better working conditions. This blockage is what enables capitalists to dam “flows” of migrant and refugee labor, making migrant labor especially profitable to exploit. In Kuala Lumpur, for example, Malaysian produce and poultry bosses perceive an “inundation” of Rohingya asylum-seekers as an oversupply of dangerous interlopers who have no option but to work for low wages, but this racist narrative of human flooding combines with a lack of legal documentation that actively devalues Rohingya labor and prevents access to jobs in higher-wage sectors. In other words, conditions of labor unfreedom. In Denver, affixing refugee-ness to Burmese workers enables employers to separate people who were resettled as refugees from other minoritized employees and reframe exploitation as justice and a humanitarian gift. The fluidity of migrant labor – like the freedom of wage labor itself – is always so-called.

Read full Brief with citations here.

2024 Asian Symposium: Fluid Asia
Friday, April 12, 2024 8:45am - 5:30pm
Center for British and Irish Studies, Norlin Library, 5th Floor

CAS Has a New Home!

Over winter break, the Center for Asian Studies moved from our temporary location in the CASE Building to our permanent home in the Denison Building.

We have been busy setting up new office space and settling in, but please come by and say "hi"!

Our official address is the Denison Arts & Sciences Building, 366 UCB, 1080 Broadway, Boulder CO 80309.

Teaching Taiwan
an Experiential Learning Essay

By Lauren Collins
One of my favorite undergraduate courses to teach is Memory and the Politics of Heritage in Asia.

This class uses examinations of material objects (not only museums, monuments, and memorials, but also archives, school curriculum, and oral histories) to explore how history does not exist as a passive, fixed account, but is instead an active and ongoing struggle to shape narratives, preserve memory, and influence collective consciousness. In this class, we explore his- tory as a living, contested terrain.1 How- ever, it can be difficult for undergraduate students sitting within the four walls of my classroom, place-bound on my campus, to truly feel how competing narratives of history are actively being contested and fought over in real time as we study them. For this reason, when I had the opportuni- ty in the summer of 2023 to take a group of undergraduate students to Taiwan on a faculty-led program to explore memory politics there in real-time, I immediately agreed. In my experience, there is nothing more powerful to understanding mem- ory politics than taking students to the physical spaces where history has taken place and is actively being remembered, suppressed, and shifted.

Read full article here

Waging Peace Project Essay Contest Winner Announced

The Center for Asian Studies and Partnership for International Strategies in Asia (PISA) joined Norlin Library and several departments on campus to host the exhibit, Waging Peace in Vietnam: U.S. Soldiers and Veterans Who Opposed the War. Curated by Ron Carver, the display of photographs, documents, and oral histories documented dissent within the United States active duty armed forces, among officers, and returning veterans, as well as their means of disseminating information to mobilize others. Launched on October 30, 2023, the first week included a series of events that engaged multiple units across campus including the College of Music, the English Department, the College of Media, Communication and Information, the History Department, the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program, the Applied History Program, and the Center of the American West. The Waging Peace Project at С�� Boulder was made possible by support from the Chino Cienega Foundation.

With film screenings, panel discussions, poetry readings, and lectures, the Waging Peace project amplified the message that the American War in Vietnam has had a legacy of baneful consequences that endure to this day. Recordings of most of the events can be found on the PISA page on the Center for Asian Studies website.

As a key feature of the project, students were invited to submit essays with their reflections on viewing the exhibit. Renowned photojournalist Nick Ut, whose photo of the so-called “Napalm girl” helped to move public opinion against the war, selected Ian Messa’s essay and Vietnam Veteran Curt Stocker presented the award on behalf of Veterans for Peace. Ian hails from Golden, Colorado. He is majoring in geography and pursuing an environment-society geography B.A. with hydrology and GIS certificates, as well as a civil engineering minor. Congratulations Ian!

Read Ian's essay here

Indonesian Student Exchange Program Launches

Fall 2023 was С�� Boulder’s first semester as a host for the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA), through which the Indonesian government provides study abroad opportunities for undergraduate students. We look forward to hosting another group in fall 2024.

Two students who spent a semester at С�� Boulder wrote short essays about their experiences.

Find exchange student essays here

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Spotlight October 2023

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 16:13:52 +0000

Spotlight October 2023 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/21/2024 - 10:13

Rachel Rinaldo Returns After Fulbright

Just a few weeks ago, I returned to Boulder after spending a wonderful sabbatical year as a Fulbright Scholar in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

As I step back into the CAS faculty director position, I am excited to welcome four new staff members. Shae Frydenlund is a Teaching Assistant Professor. She is a human geographer who studies the relationship between capitalism and displaced people, with a focus on Southeast Asia and Southeast Asian migrants. She earned her PhD in Geography from С�� Boulder in 2019 and she will be teaching our new line-up of Climate and Society courses. Lucy Lin is an Accounting and Grant Assistant. Lucy has worked in accounting for many years and will work on the financial management of grant funded projects for CAS and Teaching East Asia. Hannah Palustre is an Outreach Coordinator. She first worked as a business journalist, then worked with legislators and civil society in the Philippines to advocate economic and legal reforms. Hannah will be working on outreach and engagement initiatives for CAS. Finally, Nurul Wahyuni is our newest Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant. She is from Palembang, South Sumatra, and has a BA and MA in English language education. She will be teaching Indonesian language classes and organizing cultural events and activities related to Indonesia, including our annual Indonesian potluck.

This academic year our theme is Fluid Asia. With this theme, CAS seeks to gather together divergent interests in ‘blue humanities’, ‘wet ontologies’, environmental justice movements associated with water, climate change induced experiences of flood and drought, and social fluidities of all sorts – from labor migrant streams to ‘be like water’ protest movements – all in the spatial and temporal contexts of Asian places. We are particularly interested in how the social effects of anthropogenic climate change are experienced through human relations with water. Stay tuned for events and speakers related to this theme throughout the year!

Finally, while I was in Yogyakarta, I was fortunate to collaborate with faculty and students at Gajah Mada University, which is also a partner for undergraduate exchanges with С�� Boulder. In fact, the first С�� Boulder undergraduate student is currently spending the fall semester at Gajah Mada. If you or a student you know is interested in this program, please see https://abroad.colorado.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=10285 for more information.

Celebrating a Decade of
Undergraduate Research:
Introducing the 10th Issue of CJAS

Vol. 10, Issue 1, Spring 2023

Welcome to the latest installment of the Colorado Journal of Asian Studies (CJAS), proudly brought to you by the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. After a brief hiatus in 2022, we are thrilled to announce the release of our 10th issue in Spring 2023, with an issue featuring both research and creative pieces that span Iran to Japan. Our contributors, hailing from various universities and regions, have produced insightful works that explore a wide range of topics, including protest and political repression, history, literature, and gender.

We are grateful to the contributing undergraduate scholars for their invaluable insights and dedication to advancing our understanding of Asia. We invite you to explore the 10^th edition of CJAS through the virtual edition. Find the complete range of articles and essays here.

We are now accepting submissions for the 11^th edition. They can be submitted here

Upcoming Event:
Green politics in the Lower Mekong Subregion

Wednesday October 11 5:00-6:00 pm
Eaton Humanities 135

Professor Nguyen Minh Quang, a visiting scholar from Vietnam, will speak about the 'conflict' between key players and actors in the Mekong region's green politics – governments and investors vs. local CSOs/NGOs supported by western donors – focusing on recent developments and contests in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Professor Nguyen will emphasize how the geopolitical competition in the region has implications for the US and other western investors and stakeholders.

Nguyen Minh Quang is a geopolitics lecturer at Can Tho University in Vietnam and co-founder of the Mekong Environment Forum. He has specialized in conflict management (Southeast Asia), environmental security issues (Lower Mekong Subregion), and Vietnamese domestic politics over the last decade. His book chapters, commentaries, and articles appeared in publications, including Springer, Routledge, ISI/Scopus-indexed journals, The Diplomat, and East Asia Forum. Since 2017, he has delivered a number of papers and guest lectures to regional and international conferences, including COP27 in Egypt, and foreign universities. His latest edited book is The Political Economy of Education Reforms in Vietnam (Routledge 2022).

Co-Sponsored with Leeds School of Business

Upcoming Event:
Fallout: Asian networks of nuclearity

Two panel sessions beginning at 10am
Friday, October 27, 2023
Flatirons Room, Center for Community (C4C)

with Keynote by Shiloh Krupar (Georgetown University)
at 3:30pm in Guggenheim room 205
co-sponsored by the Department of Geography and delivered as part of the Geography Fall Colloquium Series.

This third workshop in the Tale of Two Asias project seeks to explore the networked and relational nature of Asian nuclearity. That is, what sorts of compartmentalizations, zones of exclusion, and narratives of separation have emerged as Asian people and places grapple with nuclear infrastructures of all kinds? How do we decompartmentalize nuclear governance and grasp the complex assemblage of nuclear energy? What insights might be gained from Asia in addressing this question?

Workshop panelists will include: Meredith DeBoom (University of South Carolina); Donna Goldstein (University of Colorado Boulder); Tong Lam (University of Toronto); Ann-Elise Lewallen (University of Victoria); Maxime Polleri (Université Laval); and Magdelena Stawkowski (University of South Carolina),

with discussion comments by Tim Oakes (University of Colorado Boulder) and Kate Goldfarb (University of Colorado Boulder)

Workshop made possible by a grant from the Albert Smith Foundation.

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Spotlight May 2023

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 16:00:45 +0000

Spotlight May 2023 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/21/2024 - 10:00

The Center for Asian Studies celebrates the following students who have earned a B.A. in Asian Studies

Fall 2022
   Gabriel Hooper
Spring 2023
    Katie Edelson
   Derek Arlo Niederer
   Erin Sandau
Summer 2023
    Luca Gorla

Asian Studies Minor
   Ethan Smith

At our graduation ceremony, students will present their thesis research:

Katie Edelson

A Guide to Traveling to South Korea as a Woman

Luca Gorla

Echoes of Horror: The Enduring Impact of the Nanjing Massacre on Chinese and Japanese Media and Relations

Gabriel Hooper

A different perspective on Asian Studies

Derek Arlo Niederer

Apathy and Outrage, A Comparison Between Comfort Women Activism and Camp Town Prostitution in South Korea

Erin Sandau

The Influence of English Education on Korea Society

The Center for Asian Studies is pleased to announce the winners of Fellowships, Scholarships and Grants awarded to graduate students and faculty this spring. Congratulations to all successful applicants!

Graduate Student Awards:

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships

Academic Year 2023-2024

Aaron Bhatoya
Aaron is an incoming History PhD student. He works on South Asian History with focuses on Women, Gender, and Sexuality, as well as drugs (opium). He is excited to use the FLAS fellowship for the upcoming academic year to strengthen his Hindi skills for future archival and oral history work.

Jeanne Cho
Jeanne Cho (She/her) is in the second year of her Ph.D. program in the History Department. She studies modern Korean history, and plans to use her FLAS award to learn Japanese so that she can use it in future studies of colonial history and also broaden her perspective to consider transnational connections.

Jake Fischer
Jake has always felt that he has a sort of calling to use language skills to help bridge the widening gap between East and West. With the generous support of the FLAS fellowship, he will begin learning Korean to enhance his near-native fluency in Mandarin Chinese in order to further this goal as he explores Confucian and Daoist attitudes towards disability, and specifically how these attitudes may have influenced portrayals in contemporaneous literature. Korea has a strong tradition in Confucianism, and as such, proficiency in Korean language and culture will allow him to explore this topic from a different angle.

Summer 2023 Language Program

David Bachrach
David Fernando Bachrach is a PhD candidate in the University of Colorado Boulder's Department of Geography. He will be attending an intensive Indonesian language course for 8 weeks over the summer at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia's Language Center in Bandung. This language program will be essential for David to achieve his research goals for his dissertation, which includes long-term qualitative research on the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia.

Gabriel Hooper
Gabriel will be studying at the Manabi Japanese Language Institute this summer. He is in the MA program in the Asian Languages and Civilizations Department.

Chelsea Kennedy
Chelsea received her undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Portland, and he is currently a MA student in Religious Studies at С�� Boulder. Upon completion of her MA Chelsea plans to pursue a PhD program in Philosophy to further her research interests, which center on Islamic Philosophy and its key role in the development of the Western philosophical tradition. She is particularly interested in medieval philosophy insofar as it can be seen as the basis for the historical narrative that has led to the exclusion or delegitimizing of non-western philosophical traditions. She will be utilizing the FLAS Summer Fellowship to study Arabic at Middlebury Language School’s summer program in Middlebury, Vermont. The opportunity to study in this fully immersive 8-week program will be a vital support in Chelsea’s research, providing the tools for a comprehensive investigation of the Arabic language’s role as a conduit of intellectual discourse.

Tsering Lhamo
Tsering Lhamo is a first-generation Tibetan-American PhD student in the geography department. Tsering’s doctoral research examines the embodied experiences of caterpillar fungus harvesters and traders in the Sikkim Himalayas. Tsering plans to improve her Nepali language skills through the CAS FLAS fellowship for her fieldwork in Nepali-speaking Sikkim, India.

Japanese Studies Scholarship Fellows
Academic Year 2022-2023

Kathryn Yoshie Bertram, Art and Art History
Evelyn Emery, Asian Languages and Civilizations
Gabriel Hooper, Asian Languages and Civilizations
Akane Elizabeth Kleinkopf, Asian Languages and Civilizations
Jordan Knowles, Asian Languages and Civilizations
Sixuan Lu, Asian Languages and Civilizations
Catherine Otachime, History
Raisa Stebbins, Asian Languages and Civilizations
Emma Von Der Linn, Asian Languages and Civilizations

Edward G. Seidensticker Japan Summer Research Grant
Summer 2023

Kathryn Yoshie Bertram, Art and Art History
Catherine Otachime, History
Raisa Stebbins, Asian Languages and Civilizations

Undergraduate Awards:

Tibetan and Himalayan Studies Scholarships

Aidan Euler
Luke Stumpfl

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships
Summer 2023 Language Program

Andrew Ecker
Aidan Euler

Faculty Awards:

Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant

Ida Fauziyah, Indonesian Instructor, Center for Asian Studies
Ida Fauziyah is a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at the University of Colorado Boulder for one academic year 2022-2023. She teaches Indonesian Language.

Tibetan and Himalayan Studies Professional Development Grant

The UISFL grant will allow us to strengthen and expand Tibetan and Himalayan Studies at С�� by increasing access to THS courses and the number of students who learn about THS. The grant prioritizes expanding curricular offerings beyond faculty already teaching in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies.

Sharon Mar Adams, Instructor, Philosophy Arts and Culture Residential Academic Program
Sharon was selected to receive a Center for Asian Studies Professional Development Award for her course, WGST 2200 Women, Gender, Literature, and the Arts

Galina Siergiejczyk, Instructor, Global Studies Residential Academic Program
Galina was selected to receive a Center for Asian Studies Professional Development Award for her course, RUSS 3333: Spies Like Us: Espionage During the Cold War

Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum Course Development Grant

CLAC Co-Seminar Course Development Grants offer a stipend for the development of a supplemental one-credit undergraduate co-seminar drawing students and content from an existing disciplinary course in any department. Faculty develop and teach this co-seminar using primary Asian language sources to enhance the content of the main course.

Antje Richter, Associate Professor of Chinese, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations
Antje will be developing a CLAC Co-Seminar for CHIN 4300 Open Topics: Readings in Chinese Literature - Chinese premodern travel literature. The course covers a broad range of genres of historical and fictional travel literature through two millennia of Chinese imperial history.

Matthias Richter, Associate Professor of Chinese, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations
Matthias will be developing a CLAC Co-Seminar for CHIN 3321 Political Thought in Ancient China.

The Asia Symposium 2023:
Environment, Empire, Social Justice

By Tim Oakes, Interim Faculty Director, Center for Asian Studies

On April 21^st, CAS hosted the annual Asia Symposium, focusing on this year’s theme of “Asia, Empire, Social Justice: Home & Abroad.” The symposium featured roundtable discussion panels on Asian indigeneities and environmental justice in Asia, and a keynote speech by Professor Sunil Amrith of Yale University. Panelists included С�� graduate students as well as faculty from across campus and the Front Range. Rather than offering research presentations, panelists discussed a series of questions posed by moderators Natalie Avalos (Ethnic Studies) and Emily Yeh (Geography). Program and participant details can be found here.

During the first panel on indigeneity, panelists confronted the fraught tension between indigenous identity as both a term invented by colonialism and a source of anti-colonial and nationalist struggle. Meanwhile, for some marginalized groups in Asia – such as the Rohingya – indigeneity is not a useful or meaningful concept, or is wielded from a privileged position of oppression. Thus, the panel helped untangle the historical and geographical complexities of the term, suggesting that even though indigenous movements have a transnational aspect to them, the concept seldom translates easily from one local context to the next. The diversity of Asian places represented in the panel – Northeast India, Myanmar, Tibet, and Gaza – allowed for these place-based complexities and contradictions to emerge in the discussion.

After a lunch break, the second panel discussed issues of environmental justice in Asia, with particular attention to the ways climate change produces new vulnerabilities, injustices, and complicated politics across Asia. Topics covered included toxic marine spills in Vietnam, large scale dispossession and ground water depletion in India that results from the construction of massive solar farms which are otherwise heralded for combating climate change, local impacts of carbon capture and storage technologies in China, water treatment infrastructures in Taiwan, and the impacts of increased mining operations on nomadic herding communities in Mongolia. Throughout these discussions a key theme emerged regarding how ‘green’ development often legitimizes oppressive environmental practices for some of the most vulnerable populations in Asia. But an additional theme was clearly one of contradiction, as panelists grappled with questions concerning the outsourcing of hazardous waste and ‘waste imperialism,’ of pollution as a kind of neocolonialism, and of the local goals of environmental justice running up against powerful forces promoting green energy development at larger scales.

Professor Amrith’s keynote – “Life, Moving: Notes from a Small Island” – explored the broad theme of historical and contemporary redistributions of life on earth. He approached this from the case-study of Singapore, a place wealthy enough to insulate itself from its environment, for example through air conditioning or land reclamation. Amrith brought an historian’s perspective by starting his talk with a reference to the Burmese Banyan in the Singapore Botanical Gardens, a kind of colonial refugee – an ‘orphan of empire’ – removed from its native habitat in the 19^th Century by the British and now one of the Garden’s signature specimens. The Gardens, Amrith pointed out, were devoted to the development of tropical economic crops for the British Empire, illustrating the fundamental role of colonialism in the redistribution of life on earth. This theme has continued into present day Singapore, as the island-state’s demand for sand for land reclamation has caused massive redistributions of life in the Mekong River – in Vietnam and Laos – where much of the sand is now dredged for export. While Singapore has excelled at developing technologies of insulation (from a hot climate, or from potential sea level rise) it has been unable to escape the seasonal haze that chokes its spectacular skyline from burning plantations in Indonesia. These plantations, of course, are the legacies of colonialism’s redistribution of life and the Garden’s role in cultivating botanical ‘orphans of empire’ for economic gain. Thus, despite its various insulations from nature, Singapore remains part of nature as well.

Overall, the symposium drew clear connections between Asia and our worlds closer to home, connections that have developed through technology, legacies of imperial ambition, climate change, and social activism. If there was one key takeaway from the symposium as a whole it was perhaps this: not only does Asia provide a valuable comparative lens through which to gain better perspective on the seemingly ‘universal’ concerns of environmental justice and indigenous rights, but – more importantly – exploring these topics is Asia necessitates that we appreciate the webs of interaction and connection that make it impossible to view our lives ‘over here’ as separate from and unrelated to lives in Asia.

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Spotlight April 2023

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 15:57:21 +0000

Spotlight April 2023 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/21/2024 - 09:57

(Re)Conceptualizing Climate Justice:
The importance of place, scale, and social relations

by Denise Fernandes,
PhD Student, Department of Environmental Studies, С�� Boulder

As CAS prepares for its annual Asia Symposium, we feature here a Brief by roundtable panelist Denise Fernandes, PhD student in Environmental Studies at С��. Denise explores an Indian perspective on climate justice and demonstrates here why an area studies approach remains crucial for understanding the issues that we’ll be engaging with in the symposium: how legacies of empire, movements toward justice, and environmental challenges are shaping contemporary Asian societies.

I write this brief as the oceans have recorded the hottest temperatures till date; tornadoes have ripped through the south and midwest US; the island nation of Vanuatu has secured a UN resolution on climate justice; the IPCC released another dire warning on climate change; climate scientists have faced sanctions for protesting more climate action; and globally states and private companies continue to extract oil, gas, and coal. As these events simultaneously unfold around me, my mind is constantly wrestling with the idea of climate justice. What does it mean? Who has agency over it? Who controls the narratives? How is it theorized at different governance and policy scales? Why is it such a contested concept? Over the past twelve years, with my work in policy and academic circles and along with historically disenfranchised communities who are deeply impacted by extreme weather events, I have come to realize that climate justice is not a very simple concept. It is deeply contested at different scales of governance where international climate negotiators, politicians, economists, scientists etc. articulate climate justice very differently in comparison to tribal communities, subsistence farmers, and/or historically disenfranchised/marginalized groups. This constant struggle with the term is what makes it extremely difficult to operationalize “just climate transition policies”.

Read the full brief here

The Asia Symposium 2023:
Environment, Empire, Social Justice

Friday, April 21, 10:30am - 5pm
CASE Building E422

This year’s Asia Symposium will explore two fundamental contemporary legacies of imperialism and colonialism in Asia: indigeneity and environmental justice. Noting that empire has been a crucial factor in shaping the trajectories of past and present Asian societies, this year’s symposium seeks to draw connections between past and present, between activism and scholarship, and between Asia and the US. The Asia Symposium will feature two roundtables featuring both early-career and more established scholars from the Colorado Front Range region, and a keynote by Professor Sunil Amrath. Please join us for this special day of discussion and reflection on the linkages between empire and changing Asian environments, social movements, and indigenous politics.

Ambassador Ted Osius comes to CAS for a talk and book signing

In early February, former Ambassador Ted Osius (fourth from the left above) came to С�� Boulder to give a talk based on his new book Nothing Is Impossible, America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam. The evening was punctuated with wit and insight into the evolution of the US-Vietnam relationship in the years since re-establishing diplomatic relations. After the talk there was a long line waiting for him to sign copies of his book. CAS was thrilled to host him.

С�� Boulder Tibetan Losar 2023 Celebration— A Big Hit

On February 24^th, 2023, the University of Colorado Boulder ushered in the new Tibetan year of the Water Hare with Losar celebrations. Losar (ལོ་གསར་) meaning New Year in Tibetan is celebrated widely across the Tibetan Plateau and in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, India, and Bhutan. Taking place on С�� Boulder campus for the second time, this year’s Losar cultural program was jointly organized by the Center for Asian Studies (CAS), the Tibet Himalaya Initiative, Department of Anthropology, and the Anderson Language and Technology Center.

The event started with the serving of the ceremonial sweet rice (dresi) – an auspicious food symbolizing prosperity and good fortune— Tibetan butter tea, chai, and Tibetan Losar cookies (khabsey). The khabsey was prepared by the С�� Tibetan students with the support and sponsorship of the local Boulder-based Tibetan-owned Cafe, Little Lama Cafe located at Naropa University.

Read more

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Spotlight January 2023

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 15:49:23 +0000

Spotlight January 2023 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/21/2024 - 09:49

Looking Back Fifty Years, America in Vietnam:

Commemorating the 50 Year Anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords

by Steven Dike (History and Honors, С�� Boulder)

American combat in Vietnam ended 50 years ago with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in early 1973. 50 years ago, it would have been hard to imagine that the United States would have close and peaceful relations with Vietnam—specifically a Vietnam united under the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), a communist government that we had fought a war against for over two decades. Vietnam itself was in the midst of nearly continuous conflict and upheaval from 1940 to 1975, facing decades-old French colonial domination, Japanese occupation and a massive famine during World War II, an 8-year war against France, and then a prolonged conflict of varied intensity lasting from when the nation was temporarily divided in 1954, until 1975, when the DRV defeated the southern, American-backed Republic of Vietnam, marking as well the first time that the United States had lost a major war. The subsequent communist economic program failed badly, and Vietnam began to abandon it in the mid-1980s under a liberalization program known as doi moi. Ever since, Vietnam has achieved high, though unevenly distributed, rates of economic growth. In the mid-1990s the United States and Vietnam normalized relations and have since become significant trading partners and remarkably friendly nations.

Read the full article here.

The Center for Asian Studies is running a series commemorating the 50^thAnniversary of the Paris Peace Accords that ended American combat in Vietnam. The theme of the events is moving from war to peace. Ambassador Ted Osius was on the ground in the 1990s as the United States normalized relations with Vietnam and began to leave the war behind. During the Obama Administration, he served as ambassador. Our other speakers have all been involved with humanitarian and cultural exchange work between Vietnam and the US in the decades after the war.

We began with a November showing of a rough cut of a forthcoming PBS documentary, The Movement and the Madman about the confrontation between the antiwar movement and the Nixon Administration.

This week we have three more events:
Vietnam and the USA: Looking Forward and Back, a panel discussion with Sister Sen Nguyen, Dr. Ted Ning, and Dr. Pete Steinhauer.
February 2, 5:30 PM, CASE E422

“Nothing is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam” with Former US Ambassador to Vietnam, Ted Osius
February 3, 5:00 PM, Chancellor’s Auditorium, 4^th Floor, CASE
followed by a reception

A showing of the film Hearts and Minds, in conjunction with С��’s International Film Series. Featuring a personal video introduction by director Peter Davis.
February 4, 7:30 PM, Muenzinger Auditorium

In October, as the world watched the Iranian Women's Revolution taking shape, an anonymous student on the С�� Boulder campus contributed a Brief, offering their perspective on their home country and the events as they were unfolding there. We were glad to be able to provide a forum for their thoughts as these events were happening. Below, you can find the Brief, which appeared on our blog in two installments on October 26, and November 3, 2022.

Cumulative Reflection on What the Killing of Mahsa Jina Amini Sparked In Iran

Today marks the 40^th day after the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini on Sep 16, 2022. She was a 22-year-old woman taken into custody and killed by “morality” police for her “unsatisfactory” hejab*. This unofficial police force has been oppressing and assaulting the women of Iran for years and it has only grown more violent and absurd with time. Oppression of women in Iran is not limited to how they are required to dress (failure to comply has led to them being arrested, lashed, and even killed,) it dictates their eligibility for jobs (illegal to be a singer or a pilot,) legal age of marriage (9 years,) traveling abroad and divorce (both only permitted by the husband/male guardian.) Over 40 years of such gender apartheid under the Islamic Republic fueled unprecedented uprisings across Iran that are led by women – and now by female students. Since the day of Mahsa Amini’s death, daily large-scale protests with the slogan ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ (‘Zan, Zendegi, Azadi’,) have evolved into revolution-seeking rallies and strikes; people of Iran are demanding freedom, a once and for all end to the current regime which is the cause of years of growing injustice, corruption, abuse of human rights and dictatorship. However, unfortunately but as expected, this regime is implementing every possible oppressive method to silence the freedom movements:

Read both articles here.

CAS Executive Director Danielle Rocheleau Salaz contributes to Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum in Higher Education: Harnessing the Transformative Potentials of CLAC Across Disciplines

CAS is pleased to announce that our own Executive Director, Danielle Rocheleau Salaz, is a contributor to Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum in Higher Education: Harnessing the Transformative Potentials of CLAC Across Disciplines, which was published by Routledge on November 18.

Edited by India C. Plough and Welore Tamboura, the volume offers 16 chapters describing Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) programs and initiatives throughout the US, offering insight into outcomes and opportunities for both students and faculty members, and describing the adaptability of CLAC concepts to various institutional cultures and needs.

Salaz’s chapter, entitled “CLAC Your Campus: Institutionalizing a Program that Encourages Students to Put Language and Culture Skills to Use,” discusses the structure and progress of the CLAC program at С�� Boulder, launched by CAS in 2017-18 with support from the С�� College of Arts & Sciences. CLAC enriches learning by encouraging students to study texts and materials in languages other than English, which they typically can’t do in standard content courses due to unavoidable limitations in such settings. CLAC at CAS allows students to integrate Asian language skills into content study in their field of interest. Since launching the program, 11 CLAC co-seminars have been offered at С�� Boulder, with plans for a new course offering this spring, associated with Katherine Alexander’s CHIN 3361 Women and the Supernatural in Chinese Literature for students with Chinese language knowledge.

CAS will be offering course development grants to faculty members interested in creating CLAC co-seminars associated with existing content courses that would benefit from the addition of Asian language sources. The deadline for applications will be Monday, February 27, 2023. An information session about developing a CLAC co-seminar will be held on February 13 from 11:30 to 1 overZoom. Application processes and further information is available on the CAS website.

CAS Opportunities for Students and Faculty

Graduate Students:
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships
(deadline February 15)

Edward G. Seidensticker Japan Summer Research Grant
(deadline February 20)
Undergraduate Students:

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships for Undergraduate Students (deadline February 15)

Tibetan and Himalayan Studies Scholarship for Study Abroad, Language Study, and/or Independent Research (deadline February 27)
Faculty:
CLAC Course Development Grants (deadline February 27)

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Spotlight October 2022

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 15:30:10 +0000

Spotlight October 2022 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/21/2024 - 09:30

Two new factsheets on China’s global development model published

Over the past decade, China has seemingly exploded onto the international development scene. President Xi Jinping’s 2013 launch of the ‘Belt & Road Initiative’ heralded a newly assertive posture on China’s part, and since then there has been a lot of interest in what China is doing in places like Southeast Asia and Africa, what it means for a changing world political and economic order, and what it means for countries on the receiving end of China’s development projects and enhanced trade links. There has also been a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation regarding China’s increasingly prominent role on the global development stage.

Just when, for example, did China become a global development player? Was the Belt & Road really a departure from China’s previous foreign policies and practices? Does China mostly just build big infrastructures? Or is it involved in other kinds of development as well? How powerful is China in dictating the terms of its engagements with other countries? Is China creating a new alternative to the existing patterns of capitalist development? Or is it just the most recent power player within that existing system? Is there a distinct ‘China Model’ of global development?

Text, timeline Description automatically generated with medium confidence The ChinaMade project, based at the Center for Asian Studies, has published two new factsheets aimed at answering these questions. The factsheets were developed in collaboration with the Roadwork Asia project, based at the University of Zurich, and the Environing Infrastructure project, based at the Rachel Carson Center in Munich. They were written by an international team of 22 scholars who have been researching China’s development projects in Central and Southeast Asia for years. Contributors include CAS Interim Faculty Director Tim Oakes, former CAS postdoc Alessandro Rippa, and С�� Geography alumni Jessica DiCarlo and Galen Murton.

The factsheets help readers understand that there are multiple versions of China’s development model and that the Belt & Road Initiative is just one part of a much larger set of practices that have a much longer history than just the previous decade. The contributors point out that China’s practices remain embedded within mainstream global development patterns rather than creating new conditions outside of these patterns. They also show how local governments and other stakeholders play a significant role in shaping these projects, and that China’s ability to do what it wants in these places is very limited.

Check them out here: Demystifying the Belt & Road Initiative and China’s Global Development Model: Looking Beyond the Belt & Road Initiative

Announcing a new certificate in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies at С�� Boulder

The Center for Asian Studies is excited to announce that С�� Boulder students who are interested in learning about the Tibet and Himalayan region are now able to pursue a certificate in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies. Culturally and ethnically Tibetan areas constitute ¼ of the land area of the People’s Republic of China -- roughly the size of Western Europe -- as well as the country of Bhutan and parts of north India, Nepal, and Pakistan. As a focus of tension between the two Asian superpowers of India and China, this region is geopolitically crucial. The region is known as “the Third Pole'' and home to the headwaters of seven of Asia’s major rivers. It is a hotspot for global climate change, biodiversity and ecosystem services.

С�� Boulder is a leading center of research, teaching, and scholarship on Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, as well as environmental ciences, including climatology, hydrology, ecology, and geology. Expertise on the region includes strong faculty leadership in the departments of Anthropology, Geography, and Religious Studies and the Tibet Himalaya Initiative (THI), a multidisciplinary hub for research, teaching, and public engagement on Tibet and the greater Himalaya region housed within the Center for Asian Studies. The town of Boulder itself is a significant location in the history and spread of Tibetan Buddhism in the West.

Certificate Curriculum:

The certificate of Tibetan and Himalayan Studies requires 18 credit hours of coursework, of which 3 credit hours will be an introductory class, ASIA 1700 Introduction to Tibetan Civilization or ANTH 1105 Exploring a non-Western Culture: Tibet. Students must complete 9 out of 18 hours at the upper division level, with a minimum of 12 credit hours taken on campus. Students are welcome to use up to 6 transfer credit hours for either upper or lower division courses, including in language study and study abroad, and to petition for other electives to count for upper division credits.

Spring 2023 Courses:

Students who are interested in the certificate should consider taking one or both of these upcoming spring 2023 courses:

ANTH 1105 Exploring a Non-Western Culture: Tibet: What is Tibet? Who are the Tibetans? This course will provide students with an in-depth anthropological introduction to Tibet and the Tibetan people. We will cover topics ranging from religion to politics, gender to human rights, guerrilla war against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to the everyday lives of Tibetan peoples in the Himalayas. In addition to providing students with knowledge about Tibet, this class will also provide a brief introduction to cultural anthropology that will prepare students for future coursework in anthropology.

ASIA 1700 Introduction to Tibetan Civilization: Explores the dynamic history of Tibet from its early empire to the present. Offers interdisciplinary perspectives on Tibetan civilization, including arts and literature, religion and politics, society and culture.

ASIA 4700 Tibetan Literature and Culture: This course focuses on Tibetan literary writings, mostly secular, from the 12th to the 20th century. The course will familiarize students with the cultural, intellectual, and historical movements that contributed to the development of Tibetan literary tradition.

RLST 4250: Buddhist Literature in Tibet: Tibet has a vast literary heritage in which Buddhist texts hold a prominent place. In creating this literature, Tibetan authors adopted a number of Buddhist models from India and also integrated Buddhist concerns into indigenous Tibetan oral styles. This course takes a thematic approach to the study of Buddhist literature in Tibet, and this semester we will pay special attention to the interplay between literary style and doctrinal content in several genres: songs of experience (nyams mgur), advice literature (zhal gdams), and tantric liturgies (sgrub thabs). Throughout the course, we think critically about rhetorical strategies, genre conventions, and ways of reading Buddhist literature in Tibet.
Language courses:

Students interested in Tibet and Himalaya Studies have the opportunity to pursue study in four languages that are spoken in the region: Tibetan (TBTN), Nepali (NEPL), Hindi/Urdu (HIND), and Mandarin (CHIN).

If you are interested in pursuing this certificate or have any questions you can reach out to Asian Studies program director Dr. Lauren Collins (collinlk@colorado.edu) or teaching assistant professor Dr. Tenzin Tsepak (tenzin.tsepak@colorado.edu).

Announcing a new Southeast Asian Studies track for Asian Studies majors

We are excited to announce that С�� Boulder students who are interested in learning about Southeast Asia are now able to specialize in Southeast Asian studies through the newly approved Southeast Asia track for Asian Studies majors.

Southeast Asia is one of the most geostrategically and economically important regions in the world. Not only is it home to Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, but it is also home to one of the world’s busiest and most important shipping lanes—the Straits of Malacca— and home to a rich diversity of people, religion, culture, geography, and history. The 11 countries of Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) have a total population of over 660 million and a combined GDP in 2020 of over $3.1 trillion.

Students who specialize in the Southeast Asia track will:

Gain understanding of the immense cultural, religious, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of Southeast Asia, as well as knowledge of how such diversity has been shaped by a long history of exchange and interaction with communities and cultures within/beyond the region.
Assess and appreciate how histories of imperialism, decolonization, nationalism, and war have shaped the contours of Southeast Asian history over the 19th and 20th centuries.
Obtain familiarity with a wide range of issues facing contemporary Southeast Asian societies, including current debates around themes of social inequality, gender/sexuality, faith, human rights, democracy, urbanization, cultural heritage, etc.

Students who are interested in learning more about Southeast Asia should also consider two unique study abroad opportunities available this summer and fall.

Global Seminar: Primates of Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Cat Tien, Da Nang, Vietnam) – A 3 week faculty led study abroad program in summer 2023. Interested students can learn more at the ANTH Global Seminars Info Session on October 12th at 4:30 PM in Hale 450 (Library).

Spend a semester studying at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia – С�� Boulder students can spend a semester taking courses in English at Gadjah Mada University, one of the highest-ranked universities in Indonesia, on a direct exchange program.

If you are interested in pursuing or learning more about the Southeast Asian Studies track in the Asian Studies major, you can reach out to faculty director Dr. Lauren Collins (collinlk@colorado.edu) or academic advisor Christine Luft (christine.luft@colorado.edu)

Finding Beauty in Data: Exploring the Indian Subcontinent Through Climate Research

By Berkley Larson

Over the summer I had the opportunity to work on an incredibly exciting project to gather climate data on the Indian subcontinent to be made available to the scientific community. I have always had a deep love for the environment, spending all of my free time in the mountains or exploring whatever small corner of nature I could find near home. As soon as I realized my love for statistics and data, I knew that it was important for me to apply this to one of the greatest projects our society has been tasked with: exploring climate and the impact humans have had on it. The research being done throughout the Indian subcontinent is fascinating and there is so much we can learn from it. Throughout this experience I was able to gain so many valuable insights through observing and gathering data from academics based around the world. The science being done to determine environmental changes is mind boggling, and I found so much beauty in seeing how much can be learned from something as simple as a tree trunk or lake sediment. I am thrilled to have been a part of this project and can’t wait to see the impact that it will have.

Berkley Larson is a junior majoring in Quantitative Finance. Participation in this research project was funded by the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Grant at С�� Boulder.

Virtual Shakuhachi Research Made Possible by Seidensticker Grant

The Center for Asian Studies offers support for summer research or language study to graduate students working on Japan through the Edward G. Seidensticker Japan Summer Research Grant. Brandon Stover was a 2022 grant recipient and reports on his activities below. Applications for summer 2023 will be due on February 20, 2023.

I am studying how the Japanese shakuhachi flute is taught and disseminated online. I want to see what changes teachers have made in order to teach online (as opposed to in-person) as well as what such changes might be doing to the tradition. I also hope to look more specifically at how timbre and the idea of timbre is taught online. Timbre is the different characteristics of sound that help us distinguish one sound from another. The shakuhachi is an instrument which makes broad use of different timbral sounds and colors, therefore, how these ideas are taught online is important for the future of the tradition.

I began the summer taking lessons with Shawn Head. Shawn is an American-born shakuhachi performer and teacher who currently lives in Japan. He has cultivated a community of shakuhachi players and enthusiasts on Discord and through my grant-funded lessons, I was introduced to this community. I was able to attend several virtual masterclasses as well as perform for the group (albeit only half of a piece because I had to watch my then seven month old).

I next took several lessons from Riley Lee, who is located in Australia. Riley has been teaching and performing for many years and is considered one of the best shakuhachi players outside of Japan. With Riley, I worked on a piece of music that I had learned from Shawn (Sanya - Mountain Valley) to see the differences in the way Riley taught online. My lessons were on Skype, so I was also able to see differences between the platforms. I was fortunate to be able to take an in-person lesson with Riley when he visited Colorado in June and learn a piece of music he composed for the shakuhachi (Fumai Inga - Without Ignoring Causation).

Lastly, I took lessons with Kaoru Kakizakai, located in Japan. With Kaoru, I also learned a piece I learned from Shawn (Honshirabe - First piece). I was able to learn Tamuke (Hands Folded Together), one of the most well-known shakuhachi pieces and I performed it for a church service in early July.

Thanks to the grant, I was able to take all these wonderful lessons and learn 7 different pieces of music. I also recorded each of my lessons and have been working to transcribe them. This data will be important in my research on the transmission of timbre. I found that different teachers use slightly different techniques. Often, the teachers resort to verbal or visual cues, holding their shakuhachi up close to the camera, in order to convey techniques used when trying to alter the timbre of the instrument.

Shawn relies heavily on pre-recorded YouTube videos to help his students learn a piece of music. After the student becomes proficient enough with the notes, he is able to guide them in making it musical (through adjustments to timbre and dynamics). Kaoru relies heavily on practicing Robuki, playing the lowest note on the instrument for long periods of time. Through this technique, students can develop their sound without having to work on playing right or wrong notes or even changing fingerings. Riley uses repetition and mindfulness to help guide students toward an acceptable timbre and musicality. He asks his students to play the part again, this time holding in mind a certain part of the performance (maybe it is holding steady pitch, or volume, etc.). My main teacher, Justin Williams, also uses mindfulness to guide students.

I plan to continue this research over the next few years as I write my PhD dissertation. I would like to say thank you again for the opportunity to study online timbre transmission and Shakuhachi.

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E-News

Spotlight January 2026

CAS Briefs - Nepal’s Gen Z Protests and Political Uprising: A Response to Long-term Corruption

Hirshberg wins Khyentse Foundation Academic Development Grant

Celebrating Undergraduate Research: Introducing the 12th Issue of CJAS

Recent Faculty Publications

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Spotlight December 2025

Fall 2025 Faculty Director’s Update

Grant Discontinuation Notice from the US Department of Education

News Coverage of Grant Discontinuation

Faculty Letter of Support for CAS

Frydenlund Awarded RIO New Frontiers Grant

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Spotlight May 2025

Center for Asian StudiesStudent and Faculty Achievements

Susan Schmidt Retires from CAS

Asia Symposium 2025 —InterAsian CirculationsApril 11, 2025

2025 Course Development Grants

Vietnam through TimeTeaching the History, Culture, andTransformation of a Nation

25 Years of CAS

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Spotlight March 2025

CAS Briefs - Bangladesh 2.0: A Nation Reimagined by Its Youth, Upholding Democracy

CAS Celebrates 25 Years

InterAsian Circulations

CJAS 2024 now online!

CAS Executive Director elected Chair of national CLAC Consortium

A Glimpse of Discovering Indonesia through Bahasa Indonesia Class

Susan Schmidt recipient of 2024 Kentaro Kaneko Award

America-Japan Society announces recipients

Recent Faculty Publications

We invite you to share thoughts, memories or anything that comes to mind about the Center for Asian Studies as we celebrate our 25th year.

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Spotlight April 2024

Fluid Asia Through Two Blockages: Labor Unfreedom and Geothermal Justice

CAS Has a New Home!

Teaching Taiwanan Experiential Learning Essay

Waging Peace Project Essay Contest Winner Announced

Indonesian Student Exchange Program Launches

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Spotlight October 2023

Rachel Rinaldo Returns After Fulbright

Celebrating a Decade of Undergraduate Research: Introducing the 10th Issue of CJAS

Upcoming Event: Green politics in the Lower Mekong Subregion

Upcoming Event: Fallout: Asian networks of nuclearity

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Spotlight May 2023

Graduate Student Awards:

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships

Undergraduate Awards:

Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant

Tibetan and Himalayan Studies Professional Development Grant

Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum Course Development Grant

The Asia Symposium 2023: Environment, Empire, Social Justice

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Spotlight April 2023

(Re)Conceptualizing Climate Justice: The importance of place, scale, and social relations

Ambassador Ted Osius comes to CAS for a talk and book signing

С���� Boulder Tibetan Losar 2023 Celebration— A Big Hit

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Spotlight January 2023

Looking Back Fifty Years, America in Vietnam:

Cumulative Reflection on What the Killing of Mahsa Jina Amini Sparked In Iran

CAS Executive Director Danielle Rocheleau Salaz contributes to Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum in Higher Education: Harnessing the Transformative Potentials of CLAC Across Disciplines

CAS Opportunities for Students and Faculty

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Spotlight October 2022

Two new factsheets on China’s global development model published

Announcing a new certificate in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies at С���� Boulder

Announcing a new Southeast Asian Studies track for Asian Studies majors

Finding Beauty in Data: Exploring the Indian Subcontinent Through Climate Research

Virtual Shakuhachi Research Made Possible by Seidensticker Grant

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Center for Asian Studies
Student and Faculty Achievements

Asia Symposium 2025 —
InterAsian Circulations
April 11, 2025

Vietnam through Time
Teaching the History, Culture, and
Transformation of a Nation

Teaching Taiwan
an Experiential Learning Essay

Celebrating a Decade of
Undergraduate Research:
Introducing the 10th Issue of CJAS

Upcoming Event:
Green politics in the Lower Mekong Subregion

Upcoming Event:
Fallout: Asian networks of nuclearity

The Asia Symposium 2023:
Environment, Empire, Social Justice

(Re)Conceptualizing Climate Justice:
The importance of place, scale, and social relations

С�� Boulder Tibetan Losar 2023 Celebration— A Big Hit

Announcing a new certificate in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies at С�� Boulder